Ball catching device

ABSTRACT

A ball catching device that can be formed from a single piece of cardboard or other material is provided. Once formed by folding the single piece of cardboard in a predetermined configuration, the ball catching device has a ball receiving opening and a lower portion that is sized to be handled by the hand of a user. During use, the user extends the ball catching device upward (like a glove) so as to extend the ball receiving opening into the air, while holding the bottom or lower portion with their hand.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/145,891 filed on Jan. 20, 2009.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for catching balls. Moreparticularly, it relates to box configured to be folded into a shape andfaun suitable for catching a ball.

2. Description of the Prior Art

When attending a baseball game, one of the thrills of being a fan is thepossibility of catching a foul ball, or even a home run depending onyour seat location in the stadium.

Often times, children will bring their baseball glove in the hopes of aball coming their way. The glove becomes another item of the children'sthat must be watched after and carried both to and from the game.

Adults often attempt to catch the ball with their bare hands, whichgenerally works, however can result in hand injuries or the like.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an aspect of the present invention to provide a ballcatching device that is: 1) easy to operate; 2) can be constructed fromcardboard or other disposable/recyclable material; and 3) that can beobtained at the ball park or stadium for little or no money to theconsumer.

This and other aspects are achieved in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention wherein the ball catching device includes a single pieceof cardboard or other flat sheet line material having a plurality ofpanels folded along predetermined fold lines and secured to itself usingat least one receiving slot and corresponding tab. A ball receivingopening is formed in an upper portion of the folded panels, and a ballcavity is formed in a lower portion of the folded panels and in directcommunication with the ball receiving opening.

Other objects and features of the present principles will becomeapparent from the following detailed description considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood,however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes ofillustration and not as a definition of the limits of the presentprinciples, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merelyintended to conceptually illustrate the structures and proceduresdescribed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote similarcomponents throughout the views:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an assembled ball catching deviceaccording to an implementation of the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is cardboard cutout from which the ball catching device of thepresent invention can be formed;

FIG. 2 b is a cardboard cutout from which the ball catching device ofthe present invention can be formed; and

FIGS. 3-5 show the steps of folding the cardboard cutout of FIG. 2 toform the ball catching device according to an implementation of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring generally to FIG. 1, there is shown the ball catching device100 according to an implementation of the invention. The ball catchingdevice has a ball receiving opening 120, a ball cavity 122 and includesat least one finger receiving indentation or opening 105. As will beevident from the following description, the ball receiving opening 120is in the upper portion of the catching device and is sized to fit theball being caught. The user holds the lower portion of the catchingdevice 100 and extends the ball receiving opening 120 into the air tocatch a ball. A caught ball will immediately fall into the ball cavity122 which is in direct communication with the ball receiving opening120.

The formation/creation of the ball catching device 100 is now describedwith reference to FIGS. 2-5. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the ballcatching device 100 can be formed from a single piece of cardboard orother sufficiently rigid paper like material. The dimensions of thesingle piece of cardboard can be a matter of design choice. For purposesof this description a die cut piece of cardboard approximately 16″×18″is used.

The dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3 represent fold lines for the cutcardboard. The ball catching device 100 is made up of several panels1-11 as shown. Panel 7 includes a slot 107 configured to receive the tab108 situated on panel 8, while panel 9 includes a tab 109 configured tobe inserted into slot 110. Finger receiving portions 105 a and 106 a aredisposed in the lower portions of panels 5 and 6, respectively.

FIG. 2 b shows a slightly different implementation where fingerreceiving portions 105 b and 106 b) are flipped such that the fold lineis on the top side of the opening formed by the receiving portion. Inthis configuration, the user's fingers that are within the receivingportion will be covered by the tab protruding into the ball catchingdevice.

FIG. 3 shows the first assembly step where panels 1 and 2 are broughtinward into an overlapping arrangement by folding panels 5 and 6 alongthe fold lines adjacent with back panel 11. FIG. 4 shows when panels 1and 2 are overlapped, panel 9 is folded over overlapping panels 1 and 2and secured by inserting tab 109 into slot 110. At this stage, panels 7and 8 are folded inward toward each other along the fold line adjacentpanels 5 and 6, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower portions ofpanels 7 and 8 overlap in the front such that tab 108 is inserted intoslot 107 so as to secure the ball catching device 100 into its operableconfiguration. The finger receiving hole or slots 105 and 106 arepunched in to allow the user to hole the ball catching devicesubstantially as shown in FIG. 1.

In this manner, the ball catching device 100 can be used by a patron tothe sporting event to assist in catching a ball that has left theplaying field.

As shown throughout the embodiments, the ball catching device 100 isgenerally tapered in design such that the lower portion is narrower thanthe upper ball receiving portion. Those of skill in the art willrecognize that this taper can be modified according to a particulardesign choice. In one contemplated implementation, the lower portion canbe sufficiently narrow such that a ball that is caught engages theinternal sides of the ball catching device and does not necessarily fitin the bottom of the device. Alternatively, the overall size can be suchthat the ball being caught fits perfectly within the device and rests onthe bottom of the same. Again, the size of the device can be modifiedwithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

In accordance with another contemplated implementation of the invention,the outside (and even inside) surfaces of the ball catching device 100can be used to print material for the user. For example, the ballcatching device can be printed with relevant team information (e.g.,team roster, team program information, etc), relevant league information(e.g., playoff runs, standings, etc), or may simply be printed withsponsor advertisements and/or any combination of both.

While there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novelfeatures of the present principles, it will be understood that variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of themethods described and devices illustrated, and in their operation, maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit ofthe same. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations ofthose elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the samefunction in substantially the same way to achieve the same results arewithin the scope of the present principles. Moreover, it should berecognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shownand/or described in connection with any disclosed form or implementationof the present principles may be incorporated in any other disclosed,described or suggested form or implementation as a general matter ofdesign choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only asindicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1. A ball catching device formed from a single piece of a paper likematerial, the ball catching device comprising: a plurality of panelsfolded along predetermined fold lines and secured to itself using atleast one receiving slot and corresponding tab; a ball receiving openingformed in an upper portion of the folded panels; and a ball cavityformed in a lower portion of the folded panels and in directcommunication with the ball receiving opening.
 2. The ball catchingdevice of claim 1, further comprising at least one finger receivingindentation in an outer surface of one of the folded panels of the ballcavity.